PSEi hits 7th all-time high in 2013

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Stocks extended gains on Monday, January 14, reaching their 7^th all-time high this year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 42.15 points or 0.70% to close at 6,093.90, surpassing January 9’s record closing of 6,091.18.

Earlier in the day, the bellwether index broke the 6,100 level, hitting an intraday peak of 6,115.18.

The broader-all share index, meanwhile, climbed 20.09 points or 0.53% to 3,837.14.

All sectoral indices ended in green, led by the financials, which jumped 1.53%.

There were 94 advancers and 72 decliners, while 44 stocks were unchanged.

A total of 3.83 billion shares worth P9.3 billion were traded.

The PSEi has rallied since the start of the year, save for the 72.61-point decline it posted on January 10.

The country’s fast economic growth and benign inflation have buoyed investor appetite for local stocks, said analysts.

Freya Natividad of online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com told ANC in an interview Monday morning the PSEi is expected to continue advancing on expectations of strong corporate financial results and robust government and election spending in the first half.

“Conservatively, we’re looking at 6,500 for the index in the near term,” she said. – Rappler.com